Help the Local Community

From 1944 to 1986, the uranium-rich lands in the Navajo Nation were mined heavily to keep up with the demand for nuclear energy. Over four decades of mining have left over 225 water sites contaminated with radioactive heavy metal ions, like the uranium-containing uranyl ion, which is a known mutagen and carcinogen. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set the maximum contamination level (MCL) for uranyl at 30 parts per billion (ppb), yet some of these contaminated waters contain uranium concentrations up to 700 ppb. These contaminated sites greatly restrict the Navajo people's accessibility to clean water.

Although the U.S. EPA recognizes this potent health hazard, it has not done enough to alleviate the situation, except to instruct the community not to drink from the contaminated ponds directly. However, the permanent drought-like conditions of the Great Basin Desert have rendered even contaminated water necessary for life, and the water is still being used to water crops and feed livestock. As a result, the radioactive contaminants are consumed by the humans who eat the crops and livestock, and the effects are evident in increased rates of cancers, organ failures, and hereditary birth defects.

"AIChE Projects is unique in that it gives students the responsibility and the skills necessary to solve real-world problems. It sets high expectations, but it also empowers you to meet those standards."

PREVIOUS PROJECT MANAGERS

Gain Skills as a Student & Professional

Active Water Treatment is unlike other student engineering teams: while other teams often start at a solution, and look for situational applications afterward, AWT started with a very real problem with serious consequences, and looked to design the optimal solution. This approach grounds our project in reality. Our clients and sponsors expect practical results. In order to deliver, we exercise a wide range of engineering skills, including but not limited to process and reaction engineering, 3-D modeling and simulation, microcontroller programming, as well as hands-on hardware engineering with water treatment devices. We understand that most students won't start with such a repertoire; we only ask for the passion to be a real-world problem-solver, and we can fill you in on the rest. While we are committed to achieving results, we are also dedicated to the development of our members, and we are always looking to add more outstanding teammates.